1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a buckle for joining straps and, more particularly, to such a buckle that can smoothly and stably be set into the locking position and, does not hook clothes or any other external bodies accidentally.
2. Description of the Related Art
A variety of buckles are known for use to fasten two straps together. FIGS. 7 and 8 show a buckle for this purpose according to the prior art. According to this design, the buckle B is comprised of a male buckle member B1 and a female buckle member B2. The female buckle member B2 has a front receiving open side B21, two retaining side holes B22, and a longitudinal guide track B211 inside the front receiving open side B21. The male buckle member B1 has a forwardly extended middle guide rod B12, two springy arms B11 bilaterally arranged in parallel at two sides of the middle guide rod B12, two retaining blocks B13 respectively formed integral with the remote end of each of the springy arms B11, and two stop edges B14 respectively formed in between the springy arms B11 and the retaining blocks B13 at an outer side. When fastening the buckle B, insert the middle guide rod B12 of the male buckle member B1 into the longitudinal guide track B211 of the female buckle member B2 to force the retaining blocks B13 and the springy arms B11 into the front receiving open side B21 of the female buckle member B2. When set into position, the retaining blocks B13 are respectively bilaterally forced outwards by the springy power of the springy arms B11 into the retaining side holes B22, keeping the stop edges B14 of the male buckle member B1 respectively stopped at the respective front side edges B221 of the retaining side holes B22, and therefore the male buckle member B1 is prohibited from backward movement relative to the female buckle member B2. This design of buckle is still not satisfactory in function for the drawbacks below:
1. This design of buckle is not suitable for use in a small article (shoe, wrist watch, body belt, etc.). Because the user must squeeze the retaining blocks B13 inwards with the fingers to disengage the stop edges B14 from the front side edges B221 of the retaining side holes B22 when unfastening the buckle B, the buckle members B1 and B2 must have certain dimensions convenient for operation with the fingers.
2. Because the middle guide rod B12 protrudes from the front side of the male buckle member B1 at a distance, it may hook or damage the clothes or other external bodies accidentally.
3. Because the male buckle member B1 and the female buckle member B2 must match each other precisely, the precision requirement is critical, resulting in high manufacturing cost.
4. When fastening the buckle B, the middle guide rod B12 of the male buckle member B1 must be carefully aimed at the longitudinal guide track B211 of the female buckle member B2 before inserting the male buckle member B1 into the female buckle member B2. The user may set the male buckle member B1 into the female buckle member B2 in position after several attempts.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a buckle for joining two straps that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.
The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is therefore the main object of the present invention to provide a buckle, which is easy to operate. It is another object of the present invention to provide a buckle, which does not hook the clothes or external bodies when unlocked. It is still another object of the present invention to provide a buckle, which can be closely attached to the surface of the article in which it is installed when locked. According to one aspect of the present invention, the male buckle member has a hook block at the front bottom side, and the female buckle member has an opening adapted to receive the hook block of the male buckle member and a springy support suspending in the opening and adapted to push the hook block forwards into engagement with a part of the female buckle member when the user released the female buckle member from the hand after the hook block had been inserted into the opening by force to push the springy support backwards. According to another aspect of the present invention, the female buckle member has a retaining groove provided in a front side within the opening, and the hook block of the male buckle member has a backwardly extended hooked portion adapted to engage the retaining groove of the female buckle member to positively secure the male buckle member to the female buckle member.